Growth Performance of Cypress (Cupressus funebris) Trees in Progeny Test Plantations

Based on the 6-year-old young forests of 40 cypress(Cupressus funebris) families from four provenances(Fengdu County, Youyang County and Zhong County of Chongqing City, and Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang Province), differences in growth traits between families and provenances were studied to select excellent families, so as to provide necessary data support for the upgrading of cypress seed gardens and inferior thinning of seed gardens. The results showed that there were significant differences in tree height, diameter at one meter height, crown width and growth potential between families and provenances. The coefficients of variation among families were 10.25%, 7.19%, 5.91% and 0.98%, respectively, and the coefficients of variation in tree height and diameter at one meter height among provenances were 7.25% and 12.58%, respectively, indicating that the tree height and diameter at one meter height of the superior cypress tree families were rich in variation among families and provenances, and there was potential for high-generation breeding. According to the selection rate of 15%, six excellent families for afforestation(Feng 8, Shi 4, Feng 1, Ye 14, Shi 3, and Ye 6) were screened. The average diameter at one meter height, tree height and crown width of the six excellent families were, respectively, 2.97 cm, 3.39 and 0.78 m, which were 18.82%, 12.70% and 15.42% higher than the family average, respectively, and 15.09%, 9.79% and 15.53% higher than the control group, respectively.

Hepatitis B virus X protein induces ALDH2 ubiquitin-dependent degradation to enhance alcoholic steatohepatitis

Background:Excessive alcohol intake with hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection accelerates chronic liver disease progression and patients with HBV infection are more susceptible to alcohol-induced liver disease.Hepatitis B virus X protein(HBx)plays a crucial role in disease pathogenesis,while its specific role in alcoholic liver disease(ALD)progression has not yet been elucidated.Here,we studied the role of HBx on the development of ALD.Methods:HBx-transgenic(HBx-Tg)mice and their wild-type littermates were exposed to chronic plus binge alcohol feeding.Primary hepatocytes,cell lines,and human samples were used to investigate the interaction between HBx and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 2(ALDH2).Lipid profiles in mouse livers and cells were assessed by using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry.Results:We identified that HBx significantly aggravated alcohol-induced steatohepatitis,oxidative stress,and lipid peroxidation in mice.In addition,HBx induced worse lipid profiles with high lysophospholipids generation in alcoholic steatohepatitis,as shown by using lipidomic analysis.Importantly,serum and liver acetaldehyde were markedly higher in alcoholfed HBx-Tg mice.Acetaldehyde induced lysophospholipids generation through oxidative stress in hepatocytes.Mechanistically,HBx directly bound to mitochondrial ALDH2 to induce its ubiquitin–proteasome degradation,resulting in acetaldehyde accumulation.More importantly,we also identified that patients with HBV infection reduced ALDH2 protein levels in the liver.Conclusions:Our study demonstrated that HBx-induced ubiquitin-dependent degradation of mitochondrial ALDH2 aggravates alcoholic steatohepatitis.